13 comments:

If this is supposed the book Jack was working on while staying at the hotel, published post mortem, it will rock! just as a fan boy to own it is cool. I love swag and movie collectables, I have a copy of Evil dead two that actually came in a rubber book of the dead. Even if the book turns out to be a heaping pile of garbage It is going to look sweet on my bookshelf.

Listen I'm all about different strokes but really? This is a masterpiece! Honestly, I'm not going to sit here and tell people that you have to like something just because its an institution, hey I love Metal, As I lay dying, Lamb of God, Slipknot. but I HATE Sabbath! and I know, I know, without Sabbath there would be no metal, but I just cant get into them. ANYWAY, with that said, what is it about the Shining that put's you off? if we are all going to comment on a Horror blog lets engage in some conversation. B, perhaps you can put up a poll "is it madness not to like the shining?"...... HA! I'm kidding.

The film is remarkably crafted from a filmakers standpoint, but I just didn't buy any of the tension or the horror. I'm not sure whether it's Nicholson's fault for always playing wacky characters that ruined his character for me, or whether the development in the script just wasn't adequate enough.

A good example of an actor playing two different roles under one character blanket is Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange. While his change is backwards from The Shining, you can clearly see the two distinctly different characters that still retain elements of the former, and you also see where and why they changed, and how each side dealt with who they were.

Jack Nicholson in The Shining is just always a bit of a jackass and never seems truly bothered by the fact. Nor is there really a decent tipping point.

At the end of the day I just buy any of the characters, and without believable or well crafted characters, how can you have a suspenseful or working horror film?

I suppose in the end I'm just pissed that there wasn't enough of a change, or juxtaposition between the two Jack's in the film. You could argue, that going from telling your son you love him and would never hurt him, to trying to kill your wife with a baseball bat an axe is a definite change, but I just simply didn't buy it.

In fact, the only part of the film I liked (aside from the behind the scenes filming stuff) was the totally off the wall ending, with the men in animal suits, and skeletons and whatnot. Sure it barely made sense, but it was cool all the same.

I seem to have a much warmer reception to this film, I also saw it when I was very young and it has always had a special place in my heart. Perhaps it was the way it way filmed, the 1980 film stock, or the color palate, Pre Digital films have such a warmth to them. I will say this, there are lots of moments in the film that stand out in my mind. the son calling his mom Mrs. Torrance, RED RUM, RED RUM (chills man, chills!)Jack chasing his son in the maze of pine bushes in the finale, Jack giving up and kneeling in the snow freezing (the lighting in that scene alone was enough to keep me hooked) I guess there was so much going on that I did not see the same weak Nicholson performance that you did. With that said, most films where there is a character transition would work better as a 4 hour epic over the course of three films, but not ever film can be lord of the rings. I've said it before and I'll say it again (sorry for the rehash B)Horror films are like wine,there is no bad wine, just different wine for different pallets.thanks for the reply,

The Shining has always seemed to provoke impassioned responses. It wasn't well-regarded when it first came out, it's only over the years it has gained its classic status. To me, measuring how frightening a horror movie is will always be a subjective endeavor. I find The Shining absolutely chilling, others don't. I've spoken to people who laugh during The Exorcist, and thats a movie that STILL terrifies me, largely due, I'm sure, to my Catholic upbringing. I agree that Jack doesn't make a convincing family man early on, but that never bothered me. It's almost as if he never really was a normal guy, there was always a psychopath deep inside, it just took the evil of the Overlook to set it free.

I suppose you're right Bryan about there always being something inside Jack.

But with the novel, as I remember it, and from my own opinion, it's always more terrifying when someone completely straight-laced goes bananas.

Anyways, I consider myself an absolute horror lover from the bottom of the barrel, something like Zombie Holocaust, to the top, say Dawn of the Dead. But The Shining is to this day, the only 'horror masterpiece' I've ever felt so lukewarm about.

Which horror film *should* be remade?

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I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember...